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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Retsof on April 06, 2011, 05:26:08 pm

Title: Battle LA
Post by: Retsof on April 06, 2011, 05:26:08 pm
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: mxlm on April 06, 2011, 06:17:49 pm
Whereas I found that even by the standards of dumb action movies it was an utter failure--it's boring and talky and the talky bits aren't even slightly interesting. Evaluated as the SRSBSNS film it so desperately wants to be, it's, uh, worse.

Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 06, 2011, 06:27:00 pm
Whereas I found that even by the standards of dumb action movies it was an utter failure--it's boring and talky and the talky bits aren't even slightly interesting. Evaluated as the SRSBSNS film it so desperately wants to be, it's, uh, worse.

My opinion was: Blackhawk Down with Aliens.

This is what I expected, I was not disappointed. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: redsniper on April 06, 2011, 07:04:43 pm
The only improvement I would have made was to cut out the backstory and interpersonal drama bits. Like, cut straight from the helicopter ride to them shooting ****, and then have that for the next two hours. But that's just me...
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: watsisname on April 06, 2011, 08:30:39 pm
Ehh, was not worth the admission price for me.  I went in expecting lots of cool CGI 'splosions with a **** story.  What I got was lots of cool CGI 'splosions with a decent story, which I would have been okay with if it hadn't been covered with a steaming pile of fecal matter for character dialogue.  I mean I've seen movies with bad writing, but when RT said this movie is filled with awful war movie cliche, that didn't prepare me for just how awful it'd really be.

Makes for an okay rental though, and possibly better than Sucker Punch, lol.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Nuclear1 on April 06, 2011, 08:34:06 pm
My opinion was: Blackhawk Down with Aliens.

QFT.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: mxlm on April 06, 2011, 09:08:25 pm
My opinion was: Blackhawk Down with Aliens.
Wish I could have seen that movie.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: PsychoLandlord on April 06, 2011, 09:40:13 pm
My opinion was: Blackhawk Down with Aliens.

Thats what they billed it as from the beginning, thats what it was, and it was awesome as a result. The Aliens were fairly well done too, as far as Invasion tactics go. They still made monolithically stupid choices in the long run, but compared to most other invasion flicks, these guys were badasses.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: StarSlayer on April 06, 2011, 10:11:40 pm
"I'm a Veterinarian!"

/me and the rest of the theater audience collectively groan.

The fact Aaron Eckhart's character was still an E-6 going on twenty years in the Corps(musta been busted down...  a lot) and the shooting of an Alien UAV with an AT-4 also got some chuckles.  That said it was fun/different to get a grunt level view of an alien invasion scenario and Aron Eckart did a good enough job to anchor the thing, despite the cheese. Did I personally think it was worth the $6.50? Yep.

Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Fearless Leader on April 06, 2011, 11:52:50 pm
The fact Aaron Eckhart's character was still an E-6 going on twenty years in the Corps(musta been busted down...  a lot) and the shooting of an Alien UAV with an AT-4 also got some chuckles

 :lol: Yeah man, my wife and I are both veterans, and we got a kick out of all that. The other funny thing is when all the younger marines run past him on the beach at the beginning, and they are all like "Good morning SSgt" I LOLed. I really liked the scene when they are all on the chinook riding into God knows what, I felt like they portrayed the feeling of that well, but IRL you cant hear anything when you are flying in one.
The most annoying thing was they kept saying FOB like "Ef oh bee", instead of just saying fob, we all call them fobs, fob is easier to say, dont try to make it sound more military, hearing it was like nails on a chalk board. Despite that, I liked it.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Nemesis6 on April 07, 2011, 12:28:33 am
This movie could have been very salvageable if they had cut all non-essential dialogue. For example, when they get to the FOB. The crying and pep-talking doesn't work because I don't care about the paper-thin characters. They should have focused purely on making an action movie.

By the way, did anyone else notice that these guys didn't seem to act like, well, "soldiers" or "marines"? When they're first attacked and dealt a crippling blow, they were bunched up, slowly moving along the middle of the street. I'm not a military man, and hopefully I'll never be, but that just seems like something you'd just know not to do. Anyway, I think they should make a sequel. Cut out all talking. I think I speak for most people here when I say that I zoned when they got the FOB-thingy and he starts talking to the kid. Cut out stuff like that, and they'd have a much better framework for the sequel.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Scourge of Ages on April 07, 2011, 12:42:23 am
I also enjoyed the movie. And would like to echo most of the things previously said in this thread.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: mxlm on April 07, 2011, 01:12:19 am
By the way, did anyone else notice that these guys didn't seem to act like, well, "soldiers" or "marines"? When they're first attacked and dealt a crippling blow, they were bunched up, slowly moving along the middle of the street. I'm not a military man, and hopefully I'll never be, but that just seems like something you'd just know not to do. Anyway, I think they should make a sequel. Cut out all talking. I think I speak for most people here when I say that I zoned when they got the FOB-thingy and he starts talking to the kid. Cut out stuff like that, and they'd have a much better framework for the sequel.

The talking certainly didn't help, but the movie failed when the aliens stopped being indistinct, barely-visible forms and became, uh, guys in robot suits shuffling along an overpass. Well. The tension had drained out of the film before that point, but that was when it became clear it was never going to get better.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: newman on April 07, 2011, 02:00:06 am
By the way, did anyone else notice that these guys didn't seem to act like, well, "soldiers" or "marines"? When they're first attacked and dealt a crippling blow, they were bunched up, slowly moving along the middle of the street.

I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't judge how realistic the unit tactics were portrayed, but one thing I do remember some actual Delta Force people saying about urban warfare is that the middle of a street is infinitely better than being right next to a building (unless you plan on taking cover inside one). The reason being, the enemy will find it much harder to aim and hit you in the middle of a street because they can't use the buildings as a point of reference when aiming - if you're next to a building all they have to do is aim their sights down the row of buildings to get a bead on you.
Not sure if that's relevant to the scene you mentioned since I haven't seen it though.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Nuclear1 on April 07, 2011, 02:18:22 am
Yeah, and it's much easier to spot a bomb planted in the street or in a car wreck than it is to spot a bomb through a wall in a building you're walking up against.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Kosh on April 07, 2011, 08:54:21 am
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.


Those star drives dont power themselves, and they likely have an expanding population that needs new planets to settle. Our planet is one that is within their heat tolerances, so therefore they do very much need what we have, if not just to settle.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: General Battuta on April 07, 2011, 08:54:59 am
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.

Those star drives dont power themselves, and they likely have an expanding population that needs new planets to settle. Our planet is one that is within their heat tolerances, so therefore they do very much need what we have, if not just to settle.

That might make sense if the movie hadn't given a totally different reason for the invasion
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Kosh on April 07, 2011, 09:50:16 am
I thought the reason given was was colonization and exploitation of our resources, in this case salt water which they somehow use as a fuel. That being said, they themselves seem to be an aquatic species so settlement isn't entirely out of the question, even if that wasn't explicitly stated.


Or maybe I'm misremembering....... :nervous:
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 07, 2011, 10:06:33 am
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.

Those star drives dont power themselves, and they likely have an expanding population that needs new planets to settle. Our planet is one that is within their heat tolerances, so therefore they do very much need what we have, if not just to settle.

That might make sense if the movie hadn't given a totally different reason for the invasion

The reason given was our plentiful surface supply of liquid water.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: General Battuta on April 07, 2011, 10:16:38 am
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.

Those star drives dont power themselves, and they likely have an expanding population that needs new planets to settle. Our planet is one that is within their heat tolerances, so therefore they do very much need what we have, if not just to settle.

That might make sense if the movie hadn't given a totally different reason for the invasion

The reason given was our plentiful surface supply of liquid water.

Which is a perfectly good reason for aliens to invadafppffffffffffffthahahahaha

That said I think I'd maybe like this movie.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 07, 2011, 10:30:57 am
Why isn't there a topic for this yet?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  Much, much, better than Skyline.  I think what made it good was that it was less a pure sci-fi movie, and more a war movie that happened to have aliens.  Said aliens were more realistic than most, they still used projectiles, and were not immune to bullets themselves.  They also used reasonable tactics, as did the humans.  The only wall banger for me was their reason for invading, but then again any society with the capability to travel the stars should not need anything of ours anyway.  All in all I found it a movie that I might even see again in theaters.

Those star drives dont power themselves, and they likely have an expanding population that needs new planets to settle. Our planet is one that is within their heat tolerances, so therefore they do very much need what we have, if not just to settle.

That might make sense if the movie hadn't given a totally different reason for the invasion

The reason given was our plentiful surface supply of liquid water.

Which is a perfectly good reason for aliens to invadafppffffffffffffthahahahaha

That said I think I'd maybe like this movie.

Yeah, that was my reaction to the reason the aliens invaded.

However, go in expecting Blackhawk Down with Aliens, don't expect much strength in it's plot abs, and you will not be disappointed, and overall will enjoy it.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Kosh on April 07, 2011, 10:54:43 am
You know come to think of it they didn't actually bring enough of a ground force for occupation, they seemed to bring just enough to invade most of the major cities, which makes me think what we saw was not the main invasion force per se, but rather the vanguard of one.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 07, 2011, 10:59:05 am
You know come to think of it they didn't actually bring enough of a ground force for occupation, they seemed to bring just enough to invade most of the major cities, which makes me think what we saw was not the main invasion force per se, but rather the vanguard of one.

I think the same thing is postulated somewhere in the film, if I remember correctly.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Fearless Leader on April 07, 2011, 03:56:21 pm
I really loved the part where they were in the police station, and the SSgt was trying to figure out how to one shot kill the captured alien. He just kept stabbing it, everything was going to #### and he is totally focused on just stabbing it over and over again  :lol:
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: redsniper on April 07, 2011, 05:27:09 pm
One of the highlights of the movie IMO. Just keep stabbing things until you find the part that makes it die when stabbed.

Also memorable was the first up-close kill. Shoot it, then shoot it again, then drop a grenade on it just to be sure. :D
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Retsof on April 07, 2011, 06:02:03 pm
Also memorable was the first up-close kill. Shoot it, then shoot it again, then drop a grenade on it just to be sure. :D
Heh, or when they dropped the grenade down the tunnel and the alien caught it.  He was all like "Whu? OHSH-"
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: JGZinv on April 07, 2011, 07:44:11 pm
Quote
The reason given was our plentiful surface supply of liquid water.

Then we should have struck a deal with the aliens to refine Neptune and Uranus... plenty of raw material there
to process into liquid water. Could have been profitable...

Not that I've seen the movie or plan to mind you... just thinking out loud...
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 07, 2011, 07:50:34 pm
Quote
The reason given was our plentiful surface supply of liquid water.

Then we should have struck a deal with the aliens to refine Neptune and Uranus... plenty of raw material there
to process into liquid water. Could have been profitable...

Not that I've seen the movie or plan to mind you... just thinking out loud...

I know, right?

I think what was more amusing was that I'm sure they had some talking head in the film saying that the composition of Earth's water was unique in the known galaxy (as humans see it). It's about there I decided I was going to tune out all their science crap, because our Water exists in the normal polar molecule state of Water (As any high school chemistry student could tell you)
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: mxlm on April 07, 2011, 09:21:01 pm
However, go in expecting Blackhawk Down with Aliens, don't expect much strength in it's plot abs, and you will not be disappointed, and overall will enjoy it.

Funny, that's exactly how I went in. You may have gathered my feelings by now :p. Black Hawk Down was directed by Ridley Scott. This was directed by a guy whose three previous films hold 8%, 13%, and 67% on the tomatometer.

Although, that reminds me. My favorite thing about this movie is the way certain conservatives want it to be a culture war thing; the critics hate it because it's pro-military! Ebert hates it because he hates the military! Which explains why Ebert gave BHD four stars, right guys? Right?
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: watsisname on April 07, 2011, 09:21:32 pm
I guess mining water from Europa was too easy.  No sense in sucking up free resources if you can't kill off an entire civilization in the process!
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Kosh on April 07, 2011, 10:13:38 pm
There's a big difference between simple resource extraction and actual colonization. If they are aquatic then most certainly this is the only viable planet in Sol for them to have a significant colony.

But if you think about it this way,  if they attack us now while we are still weak and complacent they essentially have a free run at the rest of Sol. If they wait then they run the risk of us developing real space travel of our own and becoming a potential threat.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: General Battuta on April 07, 2011, 10:15:39 pm
There's a big difference between simple resource extraction and actual colonization. If they are aquatic then most certainly this is the only viable planet in Sol for them to have a significant colony.

Don't think so.

Quote
But if you think about it this way,  if they attack us now while we are still weak and complacent they essentially have a free run at the rest of Sol. If they wait then they run the risk of us developing real space travel of our own and becoming a potential threat.

step 1: drop rock

step 2: have free run at the rest of Sol
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Ravenholme on April 08, 2011, 06:14:42 am
There's a big difference between simple resource extraction and actual colonization. If they are aquatic then most certainly this is the only viable planet in Sol for them to have a significant colony.

They mention in the middle of the film that the sea level was already decreasing because they had structures sucking up the water, so I doubt that they're Aquatic.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Dilmah G on April 08, 2011, 07:25:37 am
Oh yeah. I personally liked the film. Wasn't 'oo inception 2011 maaaaayte!' material, but nonetheless, the movie sold itself to me as a good 'ol war flick about soldiers being soldiers, and I (not having seen the trailers) was absolutely fine with that. The beginning is one huge cliche and it gets marginally better as it goes on, but I didn't want to rip its head off like other people did.
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Luis Dias on April 08, 2011, 08:29:55 pm
Yeah, drop the rock is the obvious strategy.

I mean, even Spaceship Troopers knew that, sending asteroids from the other corner of the galaxy towards earth.... wait what?
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: MR_T3D on April 08, 2011, 10:47:53 pm
Maybe these were aliens on a spring break trying to party in LA, and their guns were just alien supersoakers?

no one else?
Title: Re: Battle LA
Post by: Mikes on April 13, 2011, 12:56:42 pm
step 1: drop rock

step 2: have free run at the rest of Sol

Step 1: Insert love to story to fill up screen time
Step 2: Drop Rock
Step 3: The End

I'm waiting for James Cameron to do it ;)